If you read CNET's hardware reviews, you've probably seen the CNET Editors' Choice award appear from time to time. The badge has always denoted our editors' favorite products--best-of-breed technology that stands apart from the competition.

We're introducing the award on 23 products, each a clear leader in its category. We determine award winners on a case-by-case basis, and we always mark the award with the month and date so that you know when the software in question won the prize. As time goes on and we continue to review new software, we will award more badges. We may remove awards if we find that the winning software is no longer a leader in its class. (Read more about how we determine Editors' Choice winners here.)

Not all categories of software on CNET Download.com will have a winner--we reserve the award only for software that truly knocks our socks off. So without further ado, we present our very first CNET Download.com Editors' Choice winners: